February 21, 2010

Waterloo Labs. Computer Controlled Fireworks.

The Waterloo Labs team experiment with computer controlled fireworks to music.

How did they do that?

You will need a laptop, microphone, a USB data acquisition unit (DAQ), Darlington transistors (two for each firework wired in series), three core electrical cable to the desired length, crocodile clips and frequency modulating software to convert the noise levels to frequency values.

The ambient volume level MUST be detected by the microphone before assembly.
The USB interface is then connected to the laptop, cables to the Darlington transistors (which will ignite the fuse) are connected with crocodile clips. Once these are all wired in place, the pre-determined frequency is picked up by the DAQ from the music or noise, then an electrical signal will be sent from the laptop to the fuse connected to the Darlington transistors igniting the fireworks fuse.

These could be set so the display is fully fired by the music or noise level alone.
If you are trying this at home, just be careful you set your values correctly, as a dog barking or any other noise in the same frequency bandwidth would also set off the fireworks.

Stay safe and enjoy.